"Now Playing List" hotkeys, & icons

[cadp2000]

Before I address this topic, I would first like to thank you Steven for your work with MusicBee. I appreciate what the program does and allows.

My main issue is with the hotkeys available (though it might be linked to "Now Playing List" behaviour). With the window open, or minimized, I cannot select a previous/next song using the hotkeys without the intermediate songs automatically playing (wanting to go from song 1 to 8 would play the first bits of songs 2 through 7). There are "Playback" hotkeys available for playing previous or next songs -- but no "Now Playing List" hotkeys for browsing up or down the playlist without playing all the songs one is browsing through.

Moreover, there are no dedicated play and pause hotkeys, only "play/pause" and "play now". While the first works as intended, "play now" seems to just play whatever album is selected in the media library part of the program. Would it be possible to include new hotkeys that add the option to simply play whatever song is selected in the "Now Playing List"?

Basically, I feel that a few new hotkeys would greatly improve mouse-less program usability:

-Now Playing List: Select previous track
-Now Playing List: Select next track
-Now Playing List: Play selection
-Playback: Pause

And a final tiny suggestion: is including the icons in /skins in the actual .exe and not in .ico files possible? I spent half an hour trying to get the Windows 7 taskbar to show the right icon in the pinned shortcut (I selected an icon in MusicBee and then pinned the program to the taskbar but the shortcut showed the .exe's default icon when closed and the new icon only when running). Turns out I had to go to the actual "AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar" shortcut to get the thing to show the proper icon both when the program is closed). Maybe a Windows issue? Kind of a stickler, yes.

Thank you for reading.

[ma_t14]

I suggest you check out the "Now Playing Assistant" as it probably is exactly what you are looking for (default hotkey: Alt + J). Opening the assistant will allow allow you to scroll through the now playing list tracks using the arrow keys and select a track to play with whatever hotkey you have set (default hotkey: Alt + Enter). I think using this approach will solve all your issues.

[cadp2000]

Thanks for the reply.

While the assistant is a feature I hadn't really discovered, it's doesn't effectively resolve the issues I brought up (it adds more steps & time than is worth) and can be kind of substituted by the search box above the music library.

What I feel is needed is simply a few more hotkeys one can use while having MusicBee minimized/in the background --  and not have to alt-tab to MusicBee to do straightforward playlist commands.

Just a suggestion, if it's not included then I'll just have to deal with it.

[ma_t14]

Thanks for the reply.

While the assistant is a feature I hadn't really discovered, it's doesn't effectively resolve the issues I brought up (it adds more steps & time than is worth) and can be kind of substituted by the search box above the music library.

...

You requested that you can scroll through the Now Playing list tracks without having to play each one in the process. If you open the now playing assistant and choose the now playing tab at the top it should remember its state after you close it. I can't really see how it's an extra step when musicbee is minimized, don't you need to see what you are scrolling through in the now playing list anyway? Okay, when MusicBee is maximized I can understand that having dedicated now playing list hotkeys would be better.

EDIT:
Regarding your request for a dedicated Pause hotkey, I just wonder how does the already available Play/Pause hotkey not achieve the same thing?

p/s
Don't get me wrong, all I am really trying to do is to help you by understanding your workflow

[Zak]

Basically, I feel that a few new hotkeys would greatly improve mouse-less program usability:

-Now Playing List: Select previous track
-Now Playing List: Select next track

There is a hotkey for "General: Goto Playing Track in Now Playing List"*.
Then you can use the arrow keys to move up and down the list.

*Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work. I'll post a bug report.

Alternatively, adding the Now Playing List to the tab sequence would allow track selection with the keyboard.

[Zak]

OP may find this useful:

http://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=12732.0

[cadp2000]

Thanks zak. The only situation I use hotkeys is with MusicBee minimized or out of focus and so I don't think this allows me to go up/down tracks, using global hotkeys, without every single song starting automatically. I can't stop the playback and go up/down the playlist with the playback staying stopped.

Hopefully I'm understanding this correctly... but how can I do this with MusicBee minimized, for example, as I work on other things?

Edit: That's why I suggested the hotkeys in the original post.

[Zak]

I'd have to test it, but if you set hotkeys to be global it should still work if MusicBee doesn't have focus.

As for MusicBee being minimised - unless you're psychic or commit all of the tracks in the Now Playing to memory, it doesn't seem useful to be able to select things you can't see. 

[cadp2000]

I think I have a pretty good idea of what songs are where in the majority of the albums in my library.

Guess I'll have to start alt-tabbing then. Thanks for the replies.